Covered backwashers



March 21, 1961 P. S. WOLF ET AL 2,975,495

COVERED BACKWASHERS Filed Jan. 22, 1958 INVENTORS 51 I l. BY 5:30 m

COVERED BACKWASHERS Peter Stephen Wolf, ZOO-11 45th Road, Bayside, N.Y and Jack Kaplan, l Forsyth Place, Newburgh, N.Y.

Filed Jan. 22, 1958, Ser- No. 710,546

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-95) The present invention relates to covered backwashers and more particularly to a covered backwasher having a backplate serving as die for the prongs of a fastener member.

Backwashers without backplate require a separate die for curling the prongs of the fastener member, and leave the bent-over prongs open to View and touch unless covered by a lining. Particularly, when the back washer is used for attaching a fastener member to a handbag or purse, it is very desirable to have a smooth metal backplate covering the prongs.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a covered backwasher which completely encloses the prongs of an attached fastener member.

Another object of the present invention is a backwasher and fastener member assembly in which the fastener member is prevented from turning relative to the backwasher.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in the backplate of the covered backwasher a pair of die recesses having curved surfaces parallel to the bandshaped prongs of a fastener member so that the prongsfully abut on the surfaces of the die recesses whereby relative turning between the fastener member and the covered backwasher is prevented in assembled condition.

With these objects in view, the present invention mainly consists in a covered backwasher comprising a rectangular backplate, and a rectangular frontplate super imposed on the backplate. The backplate is formed with a pair of recesses having curved cross sections for out wardly curling the prongs of a fastener member into the space between the frontplate and the backplate. The prongs fully abut on the surfaces of the recesses so that turning of the fastener member relative to the covered backwasher is impossible.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claim. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and function, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the aecornpanyir5rv drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a backwasher and fastener member assembly taken on line 1-1 in Fig. 2, and illustrating the device on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 2--2 in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a backwasher according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, Figs. 1 and 2 show a fastener member and a backwasher in assemble-d condition attached to a sheet of material 30, such as leather or fabric.

The backwasher 20 consists of a rectangular metal plate bent upon itself along two parallel fold lines 21 so that the central portion of the metal plate forms a rectangular backplate 22, while the end portions of the metal Fatented Mar. 21, 1961 plate abut each other along the free edges 23, as best seen in Fig. 3, and form a rectangular frontplate 24. The frontplate 24 has two pairs of openings 25 for the passage of two pairs of band-shaped prongs 11 and 12 which are part of the fastener member MD.

The backplate 22 has two elongated recesses 26 which have curved cross sections in planes perpendicular to the foldlines 21, as best seen in Fig. l. The surfaces of the recesses 26 are parallel to the foldlines 21 and perpendicular to the plane of the section of Fig. 1.

The fastener member 10 has tuinably attached thereto a latch member 13 which may cooperate with a corresponding slot in another fastener member.

During the assembly operation, the backwasher 26 is placed in a suitable recess of a press table, and the still straight prongs 11 and 12 of the fastener member it) are pressed by the press though the sheet 30 and openings 25 against the surfaces of the recesses 26 which serve as dies and curl the band-shaped prongs 11 and 12 until they assume the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2' The band-shaped prongs fully abut on the surfaces of the recesses 26 since the surfaces of the recesses and the band-shaped prongs are parallel to each other and to one pair of opposite sides of the rectangular bachwasher. Consequently turning of the fastener member it) in backwasher 2%) is not possible. The connection is even more rigid if the prongs 11 and 12 laterally abut against the ends of the recesses 26, as shown in Fig. 2.

As best seen in Fig. 1, the prongs are completely enclosed in the space between the frontplate and the backplate of the backwasher, and pierce the material 3% only under the main body of the fastener member 10. Therefore, the sharp prongs can never be touched by the person using the device.

It will be understood that the elements described above may also find a useful application in other types of attaching devices. While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a backwasher for a fastener member, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since structural modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

We claim:

A covered backwasher comprising a rectangular metal plate having a central portion and two end portions bent upon said central portions along two parallel fold lines, said end portions having free edges abutting each other so that said central portion forms a rectangular backplate and said end portions form a rectangular frontplate superimposed on said backplate and integrally connected to the same along said fold lines, said frontplate having two pairs of openings respectively located in two parallel planes perpendicular to said foldlines, said backplate being formed with two elongated recesses, each recess being located opposite one opening of each pair of openings, said recesses having curved cross sections in planes perpendicular to said fold lines, and having surfaces parallel to said foldlines; and a fastener member having two pairs of band-shaped prongs passing through said two pairs of openings, said prongs having curved free end portions completely enclosed in the space between said frontplate and said backplate and extending parallel to said surfaces and fully abutting the same, whereby turning of said fastener member in said backwasher, is prevented.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 327,515 Bradley Oct. 6, 1885 484,792 Hall Oct. 25, 1892 2,897,561 Megibow Aug. 4, I959 FOREIGN PATENTS 488,648 France July 11, 1918 

